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The Attack & Release Onset (A&R) is essentially a glottal attack. A glottal

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attack is a chaotic, immediate, ‘crashing’ closure of the vocal folds produced by
an excessive amount of respiratory velocity. Executed improperly, it can fatigue
a singer. Executed properly and it will become the backbone of your belting

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skills and builds musculature strength in ways that no other onset can. So you
have to be smart with this onset, but it is essential. The strength and

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endurance from practicing A&R onsets will result in some of the biggest
changes in your voice’s strength, endurance and belt power on higher

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notes.

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The attack & release onset is used to build more M1/chest musculature for the

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purpose of strengthening vocal belts, therefore it resides in the “resistance
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T training” group of specialized onsets. It activates cricoarytenoid muscle (CT),

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the interarytenoids, the vocalis muscualture and other M1 musculature an T
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aggressive way. Also, like the contract & release, the attack & release onset

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requires careful attention and supervision when you first do it. Make sure that
you train the P&R, T&R, W&R and D&R onsets first, before you venture
into the A&R onset.

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Never engage the constrictors when training attack & release onsets. Just

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because it is an aggressive onset, it does not mean that the placement

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and acoustic mass has to be heavy, pushy, shouty or choky. It is possible
to train “light mass” A&R onsets and you should.

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When using A&R onsets, remember that it’s only an illusion that you are
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shouting. In fact, this phonation can be surprisingly benign and harmless
provided that the acoustics are tuned right for the onset. More specifically, the

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T formant and resonant placement. Good A&R onsets tend to feel “edgy” or “pop”

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toward the forward hard palette, or edging mode position. For this reason,
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Edging vowels are best suited for training A&R onsets.

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The A&R Onset Table

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MUSCULATURE & COORDINATION TROUBLE-SHOOTS THESE USED IN USED IN

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ONSET
BENEFITS PROBLEMS TRAINING SINGING

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BUILDS STRENGTH TO

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STRENGTHENS VOCALIS, IMPROVE WEAK INTRINSIC

h CRICOARYTENOID (CT),

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MUSCULATURE, WHICH CAN

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THYROARYTENOID, (TA) CAUSE WEAK HEAD VOICE

INTERARYTENOIDS AND ALL

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MUSCULATURE RELATED TO HYPER

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ADDUCTING THE VOCAL FOLDS FOR EXTENDS THE “CHEST VOICE”
ATTACK &

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BELTING. SOUND COLOR RANGE TO
RELEASE YES YES

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HIGHER NOTES.

INCREASES VOCAL ENDURANCE

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AND ATHLETIC STRENGTH.

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THE INERTIA (ENERGY) OF A

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CHAOTIC GLOTTAL ATTACK

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EXTEND M1 VOCAL RANGE AND

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CAN SOMETIMES BE THE ONLY

ONSET THAT WILL ENGAGE

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Th BUILD BELTING SKILLS.

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THE BELT MUSCULATURE FOR

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DEVELOPING SINGERS.

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Acoustic Mode Onsets That Use A&R
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Practice individual notes from your low voice through your Passaggio. I have a
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found that the best way to get your voice to configure for good A&R onsets is
to play the “Vinnie, from Vinnie’s Pizzeria” game. Please see the video on “Call
Register”.
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Make sure you have a good embouchure, canines exposed (bite) and your

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larynx is dampened. Then aggressively phonate a hard hitting the training
vowels below. The sound should start immediately.

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ACOUSTIC MODE ONSET

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u d “EH”

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T EDGING

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“A” (CAT)
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NEUTRAL “AH”

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h CURBING

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T t “OU”
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CURBING

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CURBING “OH”
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AS DEMONSTRATED IN THE VIDEO BELOW OR

IN YOUR PRIVATE LESSONS WITH ROBERT LUNTE. V o

Ɛ/EH

CALL REGISTER OR “VINNIE CALLS“

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Additional Training Notes

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MAINTAIN A STATIC, HORIZONTAL EMBOUCHURE WHEN TRAINING THE A&R ONSET. SIMILAR TO THE W&R

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ONSET, STAGE THE EMBOUCHURE BEFORE YOU RELEASE. ALREADY HAVE YOUR EMBOUCHURE SET INTO

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POSITION BEFORE YOU ONSET.

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MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE EDGING WELL WHEN PRACTICING A&R ONSETS, OR AMPLIFYING RESONANT

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ENERGY TO THE FORWARD, HARD PALETTE. TRY TO ALSO PRODUCE RESONANT OR “PING” ENERGY OFF

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OF THE UPPER BACK MOLARS. “BITE DOWN” ON THE ONSET AND LET THE SPACE INSIDE YOUR ORAL

CAVITY BE HORIZONTAL AND COMPRESSED. THIS HELPS TO INCREASE THE SOUND ENERGY IN THE ORAL
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CAVITY AND CAN ‘PING’ THE UPPER MOLARS IN A WAY THAT IS VERY FAVORABLE TO YOUR SOUND COLOR

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AND AMPLIFICATION.

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BE SURE TO LEVERAGE THE TONGUE INTO THE “BEHIND THE BOTTOM TEETH” POSITION OR LEVERAGE

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DEEPER INTO THE LINGUAL VESTIBULE. (THE FLESHY SPACE BELOW THE ROOTS OF THE BOTTOM FRONT

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TEETH).

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EDGING VOWELS TEND TO BE THE MOST FAVORABLE FOR A&R ONSETS. NEUTRAL VOWELS ARE ALSO

SUITED WELL FOR A&R ONSETS. CURBING VOWELS TEND TO BE THE LEAST SUITED FOR TRAINING A&R

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T t S
ONSETS. SO AS A BEGINNER, START A&R TRAINING WITH EDGING VOWELS; Ɛ/EH! AND AE/A (“CAT”)!

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BECAUSE OF THE AGGRESSIVE NATURE OF A&R ONSETS, IF YOU EVER FEEL MUSCLE CRAMPS, OR

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SQUEEZING IN YOUR VOICE FROM PRACTICING A&R ONSETS, STOP. A&R ONSETS ARE REALLY BEST TO BE

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LEARNED INITIALLY UNDER SOME SUPERVISION FROM ROBERT LUNTE OR A TVS CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR.

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